February 10, 2021
Dentsu Inc. (hereinafter “the Company”) has been driving various reform measures since it announced the “Working Environment Reform Plan” on July 27, 2017. The initiative was developed jointly by management and employees, with input from external consultants.
The Company announced updates on the “Progress with Working Environment Reforms” once a year, until 2019. Starting 2020, quarterly results are provided with additional information.
The quarterly results for disclosure include: The number of employees violating Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act (daily and monthly); total work hours per employee (quarterly total); the hours in excess of statutory work hours per employee (monthly average); and the number of harassment consultations brought to the attention of the Company’s consultation desk (quarterly).
Reported annually are the total number of paid holidays taken per employee and the usage rate of statutory paid holidays per employee.
We will continue to drive our multifaceted and comprehensive reforms to both reduce working hours and improve business performance.
2020 Q4 Results (October–December)
| Indicators | 2020 Q4 Results | 2019 Q4 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees violated Article 36 (monthly) |
— | — |
| Number of employees violated Article 36 (daily) |
— | — |
| Total hours worked per employee (quarterly) |
481.1 hrs (0.7 hrs more YOY) |
480.4 hrs |
| Hours in excess of statutory work hours (monthly average) |
6.7 hrs (0.2 hrs less YOY) |
6.9 hrs |
| Number of harassment consultations received at the consultation desk (quarterly)1 | 7 (15 less YOY) |
22 |
2020 Full-year Results (January–December)
| Indicators | 2020 Results (Jan–Dec) | 2019 (Jan–Dec) | 2018 (Jan–Dec) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of employees violated Article 36 (monthly) |
— | — | 10 |
| Number of employees violated Article 36 (daily) |
— | — | — |
| Total hours worked per employee (Jan–Dec) |
1,836.9 hrs (66.8 hrs less; -3.5% YOY) |
1,903.7 hrs (49.0 hrs less; -2.5% YOY) |
1,952 hrs |
| Hours in excess of statutory work hours (monthly average) |
4.1 hrs (2.7 hrs less YOY) |
6.8 hrs (3.0 hrs less YOY) |
9.8 hrs |
| Paid holidays taken per employee (Jan–Dec)1 | 14.7 days (9.1 days less YOY) |
23.8 days (2.9 days more YOY) |
20.9 days |
| Rate of statutory paid holidays taken per employee (Jan–Dec)1 | 46.5% (-16.3 pp YOY) |
62.8% (-3.1 pp YOY) |
66.0% |
| Number of harassment consultations received at the consultation desk (Jan–Dec)2 | 29 (58 less YOY) |
87 (17 more YOY) |
70 |
- The decline in both the paid holidays taken and the rate of statutory annual paid holidays taken, per employee, was the result of the following.
- In 2020, due to the planned Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, employees were entitled to only six days of so-called input holidays—monthly no-work days to encourage employees to take input for their output—instead of the usual 12 days. Input holidays were not allocated during the six months set aside for preparation and holding the Games, since employees involved in related projects were expected to be too busy to take time off.
- The Company was among the first to shift to work-from-home operations when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in Japan. During the first state of emergency last April, the government asked people to avoid non-essential outings and, even after the emergency was lifted, the self-quarantine that prevailed profoundly impacted our employees’ holiday patterns. There were fewer chances to take paid holidays for discretionary travel, visiting hometowns, attending children’s school events and other reasons.
As a result, fewer paid holidays were taken per employee compared with 2019 figures. Employees are searching for ways of adapting to the new normal, and since the pandemic appears likely to continue for some time, this year the Company will go on trying to reduce working hours and encourage employees to take more holidays.
- The figures represent the number of consultations brought from offices throughout Japan to the harassment consultation desk set up in the Company’s Human Resources Division. The cases were not necessarily identified by the Company as instances of actual harassment. We will continue to increase employees’ awareness and create a favorable environment for them to speak up through staff training and the use of appropriate individuals at the consultation desk to end workplace harassment.
The next report is scheduled for late April or early May of 2021. It will cover the 2021 Q1 (January–March) results.
